Nearly everything is perfect in HEROES II. I still wish there was a wait function in the combat, and you still can't command your hero in combat if all your troops are immobilized. But apart from those little squabbles, this is a great game, even better than HEROES I. It complements the expected mix of simplicity and addictiveness with more special objects and magic artifacts to be found, larger map sizes, and two new classes. Tactical combat has been enhanced with a larger map and more units, the role-playing has been expanded with new skills, and the magic is much more extensive. Add in null modem, modem, network and even Internet play and you arrive at that 5-star package that will suck any strategy gamer into this black hole of addictive fun.

Heroes of Might and Magic I has already been deemed a classic by many, winning strategy gaming awards from almost all the major gaming press. Now, in Heroes II, you get more characters, more artifacts, more terrain types, two new character classes (Necromancer and Wizard), nicer graphics and 6 rather than 4 person multiplayer capability. The graphics are great, the music is great and the gameplay is extremely addictive -- consider yourself warned. Heroes II is destined to be a classic. If you want to get a feel of the game, try the demo for Heroes I for the time being, and realize that Heroes II is even better. This game will sit on my current system's hard drive along with X-COM: UFO Defense and other classics for as long as the hard drive lives. Overall, Heroes of Might and Magic II earns a 94 out of 100.

When you look at the awards Heroes of Might and Magic II won, you might think you were mistakenly looking at the copy for the original Heroes of Might and Magic. Yet, suprisingly enough, both games won awards as Best Strategy Game of the Year, and with good reason. When New World Computing designed the sequel to their best selling strategy game, they produced something we rarely see, a sequel better than the original.

The sequel to one of the best strategy games of 1995 couldn't have been better. The game is utterly addictive, and its potential remarkable, especially with the powerful world editor that will let you build your own scenarios. Not only will it be a fine addition into your software library, but also a great game to play alone or with friends.

In short, everything that was captivating about the original Heroes of Might and Magic has been improved in Heroes of Might and Magic II. This is a must-have for fans of the first title and will provide an engaging experience for strategy gamers entering the Heroes universe for the first time.